


Inquiring

by Prince_Hel



Series: The Devil Comes As Everything You’ve Ever Wished For [3]
Category: Cinderella (2015), Thor (Movies)
Genre: A Little Misunderstanding That It's Fixed Right Away, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Chivalrous!Hela Starts To Show Up, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Eventual Romance, F/F, Happy Endings Only For The Villains, If You Like Ella This Is Not The Place For You
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:21:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28584177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prince_Hel/pseuds/Prince_Hel
Summary: It's Tremaine's turn to unveil her story. She is unsure that revealing the truth would be benefit her, however, she has never been prone to lying ... and there's something about Hela that encourages her to show her true self.
Relationships: Hela (Marvel)/Lady Tremaine (Disney)
Series: The Devil Comes As Everything You’ve Ever Wished For [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2032756
Comments: 4
Kudos: 11





	Inquiring

“So, what’s your story?”

Tremaine looked at the woman that was wandering around the small room she shared with her daughters, her gaze sweeping every space, not holding back her expression of disdain.

She couldn’t blame her one bit.

Once Tremaine’s thrill calmed after what Hela had revealed about her, they ate and she couldn’t deny that she was enjoying herself but the moment they were done, she tentatively asked if they could go back to the village. She preferred to ride Fenris again than experiencing the unpleasant sensation of a bug crawling upon her.

Hela looked at her with a frown but she surprisingly agreed with a terse nod after a couple of seconds.

On the way back, the mood between them was disconcertingly (at least for Tremaine) strained and the woman could even feel Hela’s body no longer relaxed under her hands as it had been during the first ride. Tremaine was tempted to ignore it since her main interest at the moment was to be done with the trip and have her feet on the ground, but on the other hand, she selfishly wanted to keep experiencing the sensation of affinity they had created.

Following a hunch, Tremaine decided not to question Hela about it and simply leaned forward to whisper close to her ear an invitation for Hela to stay a little longer with her once they were back.

It was as if her words were coated with magic because the effect they had in Hela was immediate. The goddess relaxed under her hold just as her characteristic keenness resurfaced back in her as if her previous withdrawal had never happened.

Tremaine was surprised when she felt a part of her softening at the woman’s reaction, amazed to witness the proof that Hela was indeed enchanted with her enough for her mood to be affected when she believed she was being rejected.

The knowledge was a double-edged sword to have in her power.

Back to the village, Tremaine was ready to formally introduce Hela to Anastasia and Drizella but there was no sign of them when they arrived at her abode. Far from worrying, imagining they were with their suitors, Tremaine allowed the woman in, feeling a sensation of embarrassment for the inadequate place for a queen.

“My story?” She raised an eyebrow.

“You don’t look like the kind of woman that would stay in a place like this if she can help it.” She walked towards the table where Tremaine was at, the one next to the window, sitting in front of her. “I also asked about you and nobody knew anything. I’m sure there’s a story behind it.”

Tremaine licked her lips, her gaze nailed on the table. If she was facing anybody else, she would react defensively and like a snake, struck back. But Hela was different and not only because she was the key who could open endless doors to her. She had opened up to her though Tremaine didn’t believe it had been an act of trust but more an opportunity to brag about herself. But it didn’t matter whichever was the reason, what mattered was that it had happened, that Hela found her worth it to brag with.

Under other circumstances, Tremaine would have extolled her experiences but something was stopping her from doing it. Part of her wanted Hela to know the truth without any kind of filters but a tiny part of herself didn’t believe her story was interesting enough for someone like Hela.

“My story is not as interesting as yours,” she claimed in a low tone.

“Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?” She placed her elbow on the table, resting her chin on her head, looking at Tremaine with sincere interest.

Tremaine raised an eyebrow and for a moment it looked like she wouldn’t cave but after a moment she snickered. “I think it’s fair.” She pursed her lips, pondering how to do this quickly. “I married my first husband, Francis, months after I turned the legal age to do it. We were in love and desperate to be together.” An uncharacteristic sincere smile curved her lips. “Eighteen years later we lost him at the hands of an incurable disease.” She turned her head towards the window in an attempt to conceal how it had affected her, to the point that her personality had changed.

Hela frowned when she saw the woman’s reaction when she spoke about her deceased husband, not liking the way her features completely transformed, giving a softer and tender expression. It wasn’t that it bothered her the staggering change or that it ruined the image she had of the woman, what bothered her was someone that wasn’t her was the reason for it.

“At least the girls were older and I didn’t have to deal with them on my own since they were little but things got difficult right away since he was our support. I knew I had to find someone to look out for us because I was not going to be like one of those women that work in order to provide for themselves and her family. That’s not the way I was raised.” She scrunched up her nose. “I was raised to expect everything handed to me.”

Hela smirked this time. This made more sense to the image she had absorbed about the woman from their first encounter.

“When the inheritance Francis left us was coming to an end, I started the hunt for someone fitting. It took a little longer than I would have liked it but I met a decent and wealthy widower who seemed nice enough and who I could handle at my whim because love had nothing to do with it this time. He had a daughter so it was easy to seed the idea that she needed a mother figure in his mind, making him believe he had been the one who had it,” she sneered.

“It was easy to see that the wench was everything to him so I had to play my part like the caring stepmother.” She rolled her eyes. “I have to admit that when we got the news that he had died during one of his trips, it was equally a blessing and a curse ─ I no longer had to fake but it also meant that once again my daughters and I were facing a dilemma. However, this time there was an extra burden.”

It wasn’t hard to know what she was referring to. “The wench?” Hela asked, with a bit of amusement in her tone.

Tremaine snorted. “Expectedly, he left everything to her so I had to deal with her annoying presence in my life for longer.” Her expression was filled with raw contempt that would intimidate almost anyone but Hela found it alluring, even more so when a malicious smile completed the picture. “But I found her a great purpose in our lives as our maid.” Hela’s eyes widened but she immediately chuckled. “It was a tiny bit more bearable in that way, until I could find someone my daughters could marry and secure something for us. It seems I was about to get my way when the royalty in the kingdom we lived in threw a party so the prince found a woman to marry.” She moved forward to mirror Hela’s position, placing her elbow on the table but she did it to rub her forehead. “You would believe that we would have more chances since I have two daughters but they-”

“Yes, I have seen how they are.” Since she wanted to know everything about Tremaine, that included Anastasia and Drizella, which meant her lackeys had been watching them too while they gathered information. Bratty, immature, ungainly, and too excitable were the best way to describe them.

Tremaine looked at the woman in front of her without lifting her head from her hand with a frown but this time Hela wasn’t showing contempt so she let it slide. “So of course they didn’t stand a chance with the prince but nevertheless I tried because if there’s something I never do is staying with crossed arms doing nothing. Another girl won the prince over, at first, I didn’t know who she was … nobody knew. But when I discovered it-” she trailed off though it wasn’t necessary to say something else.

Hela gasped, understanding right away. “No. Your extra burden?”

“I forbid her to go. After her father died I tried to crush her lively spirit because it annoyed me to see her so vivacious, charming towards everyone, she had lost both of her parents but she was always smiling, always looking so hopeful, I couldn’t stand it,” she was speaking through clenched teeth. “After she informed us about the royal party, I ordered her to buy dresses for all of us.” She closed her eyes. “Stupid little girl believed I was including her and she thanked me for my consideration which filled my heart with more disdain, with more desire to crush her down. I started it by making clear that I wasn’t going to buy a dress for her but then I gave her hopes, told her that if she finished all the chores I told her to do in time, she could come with us.”

Hela was fascinated by how expressive Tremaine was at that moment. She normally was, that wasn’t a surprise, but watching her hatred so clear was fascinating. “I imagined she finished right in time.”

Tremaine clenched her jaw. “She did, and she had a dress. The most horrible pink dress you could imagine. I simply couldn’t control myself any longer. I attack her verbally while destroying her dress with my hands.” She smirked. “Anastasia and Drizella soon joined me after watching what I was doing.” Her smile disappeared when she continued. “I was so sure there was no way she could appear after that and when she did, she looked so different that I didn’t recognize her so I paid no mind, until I discovered a crystal shoe that matched the one the mystery woman left behind during her escape from the castle and that the prince held in his power. Apparently, magic was involved in her transformation and there was a deadline for the spell. There was someone close to the prince that wasn’t enthusiastic at all about the fact that he was obsessed to find a person who appeared to have vanished off the face of the earth so I went to him. When I revealed the woman the prince was looking for was a low-class person he was appealed so it was easy to make him agree to my demands in order to avoid their encounter from happening. I wanted my daughters married to wealthy men and a title for me.” She sighed dramatically. “Of course it didn’t happen. When the truth was revealed, the prince was offended by what I had done to his future wife that he wanted us locked down but the wench, ugh, she told me that she forgave me, as if I had done something wrong!” Indignation poured out of every pore. “The prince’s advisor then suggested a more _fitting_ punishment for us would be the vermin’s maids. My daughters and I left the kingdom the next day because there was no way that was going to happen.”

Hela tilted her head to the side, pursing her lips pensively. “Let me see if I got this right. You got married in love, when you lost your husband you lost a part of yourself and turned cold-hearted towards anyone that wasn’t your family. Your main goal is to have a wealthy life for you and your daughters. And you fervently hate a young woman for being what you couldn’t be after losing a loved one?”

There was a sharp noise when Tremaine smacked her hands on the table, throwing the chair back as she stood up. “How dare you to compare me to that vermin?!” Her eyes were flashing angrily.

Hela, entirely calm, leaned back against the back of the chair so she could make eye contact with the woman, stretching her arm to rest it over the table. “That’s not what I’m doing. Helheim, no.” She scrunched up her nose with distaste. “If you were like her, someone cheery that is nice towards everyone, you wouldn’t have caught my eye.”

There was a tense pause where Tremaine was trying to hold onto her indignation but it was a hard thing to do knowing Hela was being honest. “Then why would you suggest something so ridiculous?”

“Because she is what you are not. That doesn’t mean it’s something bad. I’m not saying you want to be like her.” Tremaine reached back with an arm, searching for the chair that now laid on the floor. Before she could move to retrieve it, Hela made a quick motion with her hand to put it in its right position for the woman to sit. “Perhaps I misstepped by saying that’s the reason why you hate her but that’s why I asked.”

Tremaine pondered for a second, though she wouldn’t voice out the real reason why she hated Ella. About the jealousy that embittered her seeing her acquiring things without any kind of effort when she had spent years fighting to survive. “You got it right until that point. I just hate her existence.”

Hela hummed. “All right.” She shrugged. “I can’t say that I blame you, I have killed people for the simple fact that I don’t like the way they are.”

It was shocking for Tremaine to find herself chuckling after feeling so angry just moments ago. “Not everyone is lucky to have the powers you have.”

Slowly Hela moved her wrist from side to side, stroking the wood under her with her fingertips. “Hate suits you.”

She raised an eyebrow, unsure of having heard correctly. “Mmm?”

“I find alluring the way you are. Your disdain towards some things.” She chuckled. “Towards people, especially when you consider them less than you, which is often.” There was something akin to affection when she smiled at the woman. “The fact that you have no filter when you are with me, even when you try. And now this revelation.” She licked her lips. “It makes you more real. That wench you described sounds so fake, so annoying to be in the presence of. The fact that you showed your loathe without holding back it’s truly captivating,” her voice became a husky whisper.

Tremaine felt a warming sensation all over her body but she knew it wasn’t embarrassment since it was a feeling she never experienced. She squirmed slightly in her chair. “Then I’m sure I’m going to keep you captivated for a long time if you like those things.”

“I’m sure.” She smiled mischievously. “Well my Lady, it’s time for me to go.” She sighed looking down to her lap before standing up.

“Oh.” She was disappointed by the outcome. “Are you sure?” She followed Hela’s steps, moving closer to her.

“Sadly, yes. Queenly things to do.” She rolled her eyes. She gave a step closer to the woman, reaching down to take her hand. “I appreciate you joining me this day.”

“It was a pleasure.” And it really was, even when she had been risked to encounter a bug. Her eyes followed the way Hela took her hand to her mouth, softly kissing the back. Normally she felt the desire to clean her hand after a man did that but not this time.

Tremaine walked Hela to the door afterwards in comfortable silence. She decided to wait until the queen stepped out of the hostel to close the door but Hela didn’t move after stepping outside the room

“I want you to think about the proposal I’m about to make.” She turned around to face Tremaine. “This,” she looked to the sides, then up and down, her disgust deepening when someone walked close to them, “is not the place for a woman like you. I abhor imagining it how it’s like to stay here.” She paused for effect. “I would like you, and your daughters, of course, to come to live in the castle.”

Tremaine was sure than never in her life she had been as shocked as she was at that moment. The only event in her life that could have caused such an effect was her first husband’s death and it hadn’t been surprising after being sick for months. At least she managed to not gap like a retarded.

Hela smiled at the woman’s stupefaction. “Think about it,” she whispered before turning around, not waiting for an answer, walking self-assuredly towards the exit of the establishment, smiling smugly at the feeling of eyes on her.

Taking the matter into her own hands indeed.


End file.
